As the year comes to a close, it's time to look at the big events, memorable moments and emerging trends that captivated us in 2008. As it happens, studying the aggregation of the billions of search queries that people type into the Google search box gives us a glimpse into the zeitgeist — the spirit of the times. We've compiled some of the highlights from Google searches around the globe and hope you enjoy looking back as much as we do.

It's always neat to see surprises. For example:

Top Personal Electronics (Canada)

palm treo

blackberry

sync

hp ipaq

slingbox

t-mobile sidekick

htc touch

iphone

ipod

tomtom

How is the iPhone at number eight!? Why do Canadians love the Palm Treo so much? I don't get it. I don't get it at all.

Here's another interesting one, this time political:

Top Political Parties (Canada)

green party

liberal party

conservative party

ndp

bloc quebecois

Considering the percentage of the vote that the Green Party actually received, it's interesting to see them so high up. It's a balance between how much those interested in the Green Party use the web (versus other parties), and how much people in general feel the web is the best place to learn about the Green Party (considering it gets less television air time than others).

And finally, I'll close with a list who's number 1 might just bring a smile to your face: